how do I do this

[coffenup]

was mounting a piece of red gum on a spur to to turn a wine stopper to see how this 30 + year old timber would look. but I can't get the spur to bite hard enough to do the rough gouging as it as hard as rock . I was thinking of gluing a piece of pine as a sacrifical base to put the spur into is this right as I don't want to split the blank
Regards Michael

[rsser]

You could do a couple of shallow saw cuts to match the spurs Michael, at right angles. This will give them some room to sit in; then cinch up the tailstock.

[mick61]

you could drill a hole a couple of mm deep and slightly thinner than the point of your spur drive. The idea of glueing waste would is also a way to go.
mick:d